Double Dates - Tales of Pokemon Champions
by Moyasu
Summary: Frita, Steven, Jethro, and Felicia go on a double date and tell funny stories about each other!
1. Opening

Frita smiled. "Trust me, this is the best restaurant in Kalos, and for good reason!" She opened the door, the bell on it chiming lightly. The waiter immediately took them to a table on the terrace, where the two couples took their seats. Frita and Steven sat on one side of the table and Jethro and his girlfriend Felicia sat on the other. Frita could see the similarities between Felicia and her cousin Flannery.

Frita liked Flannery, but also despised her at the same time because they were often mistaken to be the same person. She tried her best not to scowl at the thought. Neither she nor Flannery had given an inch when it had been suggested that they change their looks. They were equally stubborn and frankly had similar personalities to boot.

After a few minutes, a well dressed man stopped at their table. He was holding a chef's hat and was dressed in the well fitting white and blue apron and button up clothing of a Kalosian Master Chef. Set in the golden metal of his ascot clasp was a keystone. It glinted brightly in the sun coming through the large windows.

His eyes were sharp, but happy and a smile graced his lips. His blonde hair poofed around his head in soft locks. "It's a pleasure to see you in my restaurant again." He bowed, and kissed the back of Frita's hand. He turned to Felicia and Jethro next. "My name is Siebold, and I am both the chef and owner of this restaurant, and a member of the Kalos Elite Four." He bowed again and kissed the back of Felicia's hand as he had done with Frita.

Frita shook her head. "You don't have to be so formal, Sebby." One of Siebold's eyebrows twitched slightly at the use of his given nickname. "Be that as it may, I'm a gentleman, and I'm also on the clock right now. You'll forgive me if I greet my customers in a proper and polite Kalosian manner." He placed four menus on the table and asked the two couples what they wanted to drink. Frita took the liberty of ordering them both a pitcher of water and a round of Kalosian sodas, well except for Steven. He had such a heavy aversion to anything sweet that Frita didn't even bother wasting the money on him. Not that it mattered, he was paying anyway.

After Siebold brought them their drinks, he took their food orders and gave them a time estimate on when they would be done. He was exceptionally meticulous and a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it came to his cooking. Not to mention the artistic beauty he added to each dish to suit the specific customer eating it. They were in for quite a wait. While they were waiting for their food, they made small talk. Frita smiled at Jethro and Felicia. "Hey did I ever tell you about…"


	2. Hug Attack!

"...the first time Steven complained about me?" Steven immediately acquired a wide eyed expression. "Which time is this?" Frita gave him a half-hearted glare. "The time you tried to stop me from hugging you." Then she smiled, chuckling. "Or rather, the time you actually thought you COULD stop me from hugging you." Jethro laughed and Felicia gave a small smile, a little unsure of how to respond. "Hugging?" she asked. Jet explained all about Frita's bone crunching death hugs and Felicia's eyes widened. "Oh." Steven shook his head.

"Yup. I was a bit of an idiot." Jethro interlocked his fingers, put his elbows on the table, and put his hands in front of his mouth, his nose resting on his knuckles. "Do tell us a story, Mr. Stone, we're dying to hear," he said in a low accent with an eyebrow raised. Before Steven could begin, Frita warned Jethro about putting his elbows on the table and how Siebold would yell at him if he got caught.

Steven cleared his throat, apparently able to tell they were about to get into an argument, and changed back to the original topic. "Anyway…"

 _Frita had known Steven for a while then, and the incident in question happened right after she had finally gotten her confidence boost and been able to break out of her shell. She had been called back to Hoenn by Wallace, something about clothing and being a model or something like that, when she ran into Steven in Rustborough. She had seen him leaving Devon with his father and had given a loud squeal. "Stevie!"_

 _Steven, unused to the sudden nickname, had turned in surprise upon recognizing the voice it came from. Frita had run at him full speed, and he had tried his best to run away. He couldn't exactly shake her though, she was pretty fast. He had spotted Wallace coming down the sidewalk and had run straight at him. Wallace tilted his head in confusion but before he could do anything, Steven grabbed him by the shoulders as he passed the Sootopolis Gym Leader, pulled Wallace in front of him, and whirled so that they stood back to back._

 _Frita had come to a screeching halt in front of Wallace mere seconds after the switch had happened, and she was not pleased. Wallace's eyes widened before a hint of irritation crossed his face and he turned around, grabbing Steven by the waist and hefting him forward. "Here, take him."_

" _Wallace no!" He yelled as Frita latched onto him, giving him his first taste of her bone-crunching hugs. "The...betrayal!" He wheezed as she hugged all the air out of his lungs. "Use ME as a human shield will you?! HMPH!" Wallace huffed and continued down the street toward Mr. Stone, who chuckled as his son flailed wildly in an attempt to break out of Frita's grip. He flailed a little more until she hugged him tighter and then he pulled a mock dead face._

"Honestly, I thought I was gonna die." Steven took a sip of his drink and looked at Jethro and Felicia as they laughed. Frita let out a snort, grabbing Steven around the shoulders. "Well, that wouldn't happen so often if you'd just COME HERE AND LET ME LOVE YOU." She squeezed him tight and he flailed. "Stop it! That's embarrassing! People are staring at us!" Frita let him flail for a few more seconds before giggling and letting him go. He let out an indignant snort and fixed his now messy hair. Frita straightened his crimson ascot a second later.

"You love me and you know it." Steven rolled his eyes. "I almost regret it," he muttered. Frita's eyes widened and she slugged him in the shoulder. "Ow! Arceus almighty I said ALMOST!" They had a glaring match for a few seconds before Steven let out a sigh. "You're so difficult." Frita glared at him, "And you're such a snob!" Steven glared back at her, "I am NOT a snob!" Frita shook her head. "Oh yes you are, you spoiled rich kid!" They continued arguing until they both received a firm clap on the shoulder by Siebold, who was giving them a VERY intimidating death glare. "You're good friends, but I will NOT hesitate to throw you out of this restaurant if you can't **behave yourselves.** " The last two words had a slightly malice laced emphasis. "Yes, sir." Frita blurted, more out of habit than actually recognizing Siebold's authority. "I apologize for our outburst," Steven added. Siebold nodded. "Good. It would be a waste for you to be kicked out before tasting the food." And with that, he turned and walked away. Jethro and Felicia had stopped laughing abruptly, and Jethro looked amongst them. "Never anger one with the personality of the sea," he muttered. "They can be just as threatening as the raging waters themselves."


	3. First Encounters

"So, Miss Felicia," Steven said, gentlemanly as ever, sitting back and smiling. "How exactly did the two of you meet?" Felicia smiled widely, laughing a little as she sat back.

"Oh, now that's a story," she said. "The circumstances were as you'd expect…"

 **Jethro had just begun his Pokemon journey, and was challenging the Lavaridge Gym. The Leader at the time was Felicia and Flannery's grandfather, Mr. Moore, and his Typhlosion was remarkably strong. Jethro had managed to take some of his other Pokemon down, but Typhlosion was putting up a good fight. Burner, merely a Combusken at the time, had taken a little bit of damage, but was surprisingly quick enough to avoid some of Typhlosion's attacks. At the end of the battle, however, Typhlosion got the upper hand, defeating Burner and knocking it out. Jethro therefore had lost the battle. Mr. Moore gave Jethro some friendly constructive criticism, and suggested that he train behind the Pokemon Center in Lavaridge. Jethro kindly accepted the offer, and walked out of the Gym. Felicia and Flannery had been standing behind their grandfather, watching the entire time. Flannery and Jethro were the same age at the time, and Felicia was a year younger, 11 and 10 respectively.**

"I had a bit of a late start," Jethro said. "My parents own a big Pokemon ranch, and that's where I helped out for quite some time. I started my journey after the Sinister Division attacked Professor Birch's Lab. It actually took them some time to rebuild it so that Trainers could receive their first Pokemon, and by that time, I had turned 11, so…" He sat back and looked over to his girlfriend, smiling. "Sorry for the interruption, continue," he said.

"You're fine," Felicia said, raising a hand to signify her understanding.

 **Felicia and Flannery followed Jethro to the Pokemon Center battlefield, where he was sitting on a bench with his Pokemon. Burner was sitting next to him, while his Swellow was perched atop his head. Shock Dog, the nickname he had given his Manectric, was lying down in front of him. Gardevoir was sitting on the other side of Jethro, a hand on his shoulder. There was a shiny Lombre slowly swaying around them, and his Lairon was resting next to Manectric, looking up at Jethro. Flannery had snorted, crossing her arms.**

" **For a kid with strong Pokemon, he sure doesn't know how to use them in a battle too well," she said.**

" **Give him a break, Flan!" Felicia protested. "He only started his journey a few days ago!"**

" **Yeah, and he managed to get just about every single Badge on the way except for this one," Flannery retorted. "Boy, did he hit a dead end on this one." With that, Flannery turned and walked away. Felicia rolled her eyes and scoffed, turning back to look at Jethro. He was still sitting on the bench.**

" **Well, that could've gone better," he said. "I don't blame any of you guys, either, it was all my fault. I lost my cool, and couldn't focus on the battle." He let out a deep sigh and straightened his back. "So whaddya say we work on that, huh?" His Pokemon all voiced their agreement, and they all leapt up and followed him to the edge of the field. "Okay, Burner, Lombre, Lairon, you're with me. The rest of you, take positions on the other side." As his Pokemon began to spread out, Felicia stepped forward.**

" **Wait a second!" she shouted. Jethro and his Pokemon whipped around, his Lombre tripping over its own feet and Manectric bumping into Gardevoir. Felicia walked up to Jethro, who had gone the slightest bit red.**

" **You scared the daylights out of me!" he squawked. "What are you doing here?"**

" **I just thought that if you want to learn how to beat a Fire-Type Gym, you should know how to battle against Fire-Types, don'tcha think?" Felicia asked.**

" **Well, I was just gonna run through moves on the battlefield and how to avoid attacks, but…" Jethro said, looking to his Pokemon. They all gave nods, indicating that they agreed with her logic. "I guess you have a point," he said. "Do you plan on helping me?"**

" **As a matter of fact," Felicia said, tossing a Poke Ball into the air, "I do." Out came her Quilava, which had been an egg from her grandfather's Typhlosion at one point. She had raised it from a Cyndaquil when she was little, though they were more like an adorable pair of siblings rather than partners.**

 **Jethro had taken her challenge, and began the fight with Lombre. Its Bubblebeam had actually missed, and Quilava had taken it down in two moves. Lairon managed to slow it down and beat it with a Rock Tomb and Rock Slide combo, but it was quickly taken down by her Vulpix. Burner managed to finally take it down with a Dig attack, but her Torkoal put up quite a battle. At the end of the match, which had been called a draw, Felicia came over to Jethro and gave him some constructive criticism, along with some pointers on how to take her grandfather down quicker. Jethro thanked her with an offer to escort her into the Pokemon Center. She accepted, and they walked into the building together. While they sat waiting for their Pokemon to be healed, Jethro felt rather shy and awkward. He felt he wanted to thank the young girl a bit more, but wasn't sure how to. He figured he might try and start a conversation to ease the passage of time.**

" **So, what exactly made you want to help me in the first place?" he asked her.**

" **Well, I saw how seriously you battled against my grandpa," the young girl said. "I noticed you kinda overthink things. I mean, it's okay to keep focused on the battle, but not so much that you get tunnel vision. Sometimes you just have to be a little loose." She paused as she turned her head away slightly. "That, and I wanted to prove to Flannery that you aren't as much of a loser as she thinks."**

 **Jethro looked at her, confused. "But why do that?" he asked. Felicia turned away a little more.**

" **I don't know," she said quietly. Before Jethro could say another word, Nurse Joy called the two of them over to the desk. Felicia rushed over, grabbed her Pokemon, and ran out the doors. Jethro gathered his own Pokemon, thanked Nurse Joy, and walked up the stairs to his room, wondering what the heck the girl's problem was.**

"Yeah, I was a bit clueless to girls back then," Jethro said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, you were," Felicia giggled, nudging him. "You were so cute when you blushed."

"I'm thinking that's not the sole reason you found him cute back then," Steven said, winking at them. Jethro looked at Felicia, his mouth slightly open, his face turning bright red. Felicia's face was starting to get red as she smiled and continued.

 **Jethro came back to challenge the Gym later that afternoon, and managed to defeat Mr. Moore much easier thanks to Felicia's help the day before. As Mr. Moore handed him his Heat Badge, Jethro saw Flannery standing slack jawed, while Felicia was smiling widely. Mr. Moore followed Jethro's gaze and smiled, kneeling down to talk to him quietly.**

" **My granddaughter gave you some tips, didn't she?" he asked knowingly. Jethro's face went red and he looked down.**

" **Yes, sir," he said. Mr. Moore laughed a little, beaming.**

" **That's my little Felicia," he said. "She's always had a big heart. However, I must say, you're the first boy their age that she's actually helped, so she must find something special about you." Jethro looked up, eyes wide and face red as a Tomato Berry.**

" **You really think so, sir?" he asked.**

" **Indeed," the Gym Leader said. "May I see your PokeNav?" Jethro handed the device over, and the older man entered himself and Felicia as contacts. "I think you two should get to know each other more, when you have the time that is," he said. "By the way, did you ever thank her?"**

 **Jethro thought about it for a moment. "Not all that properly, I suppose," he said.**

 **Without warning, Mr. Moore turned around. "Felicia, sweetheart, could you come over here, please?" he called. "This young man wants to tell you something." He winked at Jethro as the young girl walked over, a confused look on her face. Jethro stumbled and stuttered for a few seconds, but finally managed to get the words out of his mouth.**

" **Thank you for helping me," he said. Before Felicia could say 'you're welcome,' Jethro had given her a quick hug, turned, and walked quickly out the door. Felicia stood there, stunned, while Mr. Moore bade him farewell.**

" **Feel free to come back anytime, young man!" he called. "I'd be interested to show you some of my poetry later on!"**

" **Grandpa!" Flannery said, embarrassed. She walked over, a puzzled expression on her face. "What was that all about? Why did he hug her like that?" she asked. Mr. Moore looked down and grinned.**

" **Flannery, you're not jealous now, are you?" he teased. Flannery scoffed and huffed away as their grandfather laughed and took Felicia by the hand, walking her back to their house.**

"Interestingly enough," Jethro said, "When I came back from beating the Champion at the time, both Felicia and Flannery tried to flirt with me. They were pretty competitive, but," he said, looking over to his girlfriend and smiling, "I think it's obvious who won that contest." Felicia blushed, and Jethro leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

Frita and Steven looked at each other, chuckling, and then smiled at the happy couple.


	4. You're Bugging Me!

"You two make a good couple," Frita smiled. "Yeah well," Jethro grinned. "We aren't the only ones!" Frita tilted her head. "I suppose that would depend on your definition of ' _good'._ " Everyone threw her a horrified look.

"What the _Hellgar_?!" Steven was giving her an angry and confused look. "What? I never said I didn't love you, but we don't exactly make the BEST pair in a sense." Steven glared at her. "What does that even MEAN?!" Frita sighed, shaking her head. "We just have totally opposite personalities, that's all. I mean, do you remember all the fistfights we've had?"

"Hey!" Steven pointed at her. "That was almost always you! Do you know how many bruises I've had thanks to you? You literally just gave me a new one," he added, rubbing his shoulder. "You know," Frita turned to him, one arm on the table. "For a Steel Type Trainer you sure are a wimp."

Jethro's eyes widened and he let out a soft "O-ooh." Steven glared at her. "I'm not a wimp!" Frita shook her head. "Oh yes you are!" They got into another tiny argument that ended with Steven quietly calling out, "At least I'M not afraid of BUGS."

Frita's eyes widened and she shuddered heavily. "Yuck." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "You're afraid of bugs? You didn't give any hint about that when I first visited Mara."* Jethro looked surprised.

Steven grinned wickedly. "Oh she's absolutely **terrified** of Bug Pokémon. I remember this one time…"

 _Steven had come to visit Mara for the first time. He had been awed by it, particularly it's massive collection of rare stones. Wallace had come with him, and Keith, upon Frita's request. When they had arrived, they had been told to visit Frita's new home. It was high in the canopy of the jungle, with an unobstructed view. It took quite a long time to get there, and there was a very long rope ladder involved, but it was worth it._

" _Oh. My. ARCEUS." Wallace's eyes lit up like sparklers as he looked around Frita's living room. There was a large window on one side and a spiral staircase in the left corner, on the same side they had come in on. The entire house was made out of a slightly pale, varnished wood and a large light hung from the ceiling. There was a large rug spread on the floor with several nice couches and chairs spread around on it. Little PokeDolls adorned several small tables and displays, and the coffee table had a glass top._

" _What do you guys think?" Steven nodded, "Yeah, it's nice…" Frita caught a hint of disappointment in his voice. Wallace waved at him. "Don't listen to him, it's fan-tastic!" Frita chuckled and smiled at him. "Thanks, Wallace." Frita sucked in a deep breath. "Anyway...I've," she let her breath out quickly. "Decided to stay in Mara, as the Regional Champion." Steven's face had fallen after that. "So...you're settling down in Mara then." He had put his hands in his pockets and looked out the window, refusing to face her._

" _Well, no, not exactly." Steven gave her a confused look. "I've also decided to accept the position of Pokemon League Grand Champion! This is just one of many residences that I'll have to aid in my keeping the League in check!" Wallace immediately grabbed her in an enormous hug, followed by Keith, who was excited she could go on tours with him. Steven smiled at her, and then he was focused on something just a little behind her. "Um...Frita?"_

 _A Wurmple had very slowly lowered itself onto Frita's shoulder, and she didn't even know it was there. "What?" She smiled at him. He pointed at her shoulder. "Um…" Frita turned, coming face to face with the Wurmple, and her eyes widened. The image very slowly made its way into her brain, and she let out the most Arceus-awful screech any of them had ever heard._

" _GETITOFF! GETITOFF! GETITOFF!" She screeched, flailing her arm. She eventually managed to fling the Wurmple off, and sucked in a huge breath, which was let out in an enormous sigh of relief. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She screeched, shooing at the Wurmple before shrieking and retreating as it came near her. It followed her around the room until she tripped and fell, at which point she had rapidly crawled away until she had been able to get to her feet again. She ran at Steven, jumping in his arms and forcing him to catch her, which threw him off balance and forced Wallace to catch_ _ **him**_ _._

 _They had eventually managed to get the wild Wurmple out of Frita's house (she had refused to let go of Steven until it was gone), and she had vowed to put a Pokemon security guard inside to keep bugs out afterward._

Steven was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "It...It was...it was the best moment...EVER!" Frita flushed and turned away, crossing her arms and pouting. "Shut up! It was so gross…," she mumbled. Steven was still snickering as he gasped for breath. "Uh-huh, sure. Whatever, it was hilarious!"

The couple sitting opposite from them was having an incredibly hard time keeping their laughter inside, and Jethro was silently laughing so hard that his face had turned a deep red as his body shook, no sound except the occasional wheeze escaping his mouth. Felicia was doing a bit better of a job keeping her laughter in check, and tried nudging her boyfriend in the shoulder to get him to quit, with little success. After a few moments, Jethro finally calmed down, snickering softly in short intervals.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I haven't encountered anything like that for a while!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Seriously, though, a little Wurmple? A harmless little guy like that?" Frita hissed at him, "Disgusting little poison filled monster." Jethro looked at her incredulously for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Well, I can understand the fact that it can evolve into a Dustox can be unnerving," he said, "but at the sight of a mere Wurm- okay, shutting up now," he said hurriedly as Frita grabbed a fork and leaned toward him a little.

 ***Read all about Jethro's first trip to Mara in _Adventures in Mara_ by my friend The ImaginatorAK47!**


	5. Face, Meet Door

Frita leaned back in surprise as Siebold brought them the first course of their meal, which was several small croissants and some absolutely delicious looking cream cheese made from Gogoat milk.

"Oh these look yummy," Felicia said, picking one up. Siebold bowed deeply. "I do hope you enjoy them." He also left several cups with various things in them. One had chocolate in it, another caramel, and a third one had honey in it. He left a sugar sifter on the table as well, and Frita grabbed it immediately.

She slathered cream cheese and chocolate all over her appetizer, and then blasted it with powdered sugar, purring in delight as she took a bite, getting chocolate and powdered sugar all over her face. Jethro shook his head, chuckling. Steven sighed.

"Oh how lucky I am to have found such a **polite and proper** young lady to be my girlfriend." Frita turned, giving him a big chocolate sugar smile. Jethro couldn't help himself and burst out laughing while Felicia giggled. Even Steven couldn't stop from giving a low, breathy chuckle. "Yeah, should've seen that coming. You're anything but dainty."

Frita did have some manners though, and finished eating and wiped her mouth before speaking. "Speaking of seeing things coming, you remember when you should have seen those Pokémon Center doors?"

"Whoa, whoa." Jethro leaned forward, grinning. "Now this I **HAVE** to hear!"

 _Steven and Frita had been traveling through a particularly forested part of Hoenn. Frita had opted to give her favorite Pokémon some time off, and so she had sent all but Charlie, who had flown off, to Oak's Lab in Kanto. In return, she had asked him to send her Gogoat and her Torterra, Terrador._

 _Frita preferred Fire Types, but loved all Pokémon, so she had several of other types as well._

"All except for bugs that is." Jethro pointed out. Frita swatted his head. "Ow! Hey!" She glared at him. "Don't interrupt! It's rude!" He raised his hands in surrender and she cleared her throat. "Where was I? Oh, right."

 _Sweetpea had been devastated at being left out, and had torn up Oak's Lab in a hissyfit. Meanwhile, Steven and Frita had been casually traveling. Steven had left his own Pokémon with Birch for a small rest as well, so all they had were Gogoat and Terrador. It had been a lovely time, until they had come across a badly injured Taillow._

 _Frita had insisted that they take it to a Pokémon Center, and had sped off on Gogoat's back, cradling the tiny Pokémon. Terrador had followed at top speed, which wasn't exactly all that fast. Steven had considered running ahead, but he knew Frita would be upset if he left her Pokémon to slowly make his way on his own._

 _Besides that, Steven was sure there wasn't any way for him to help the Taillow anyway, so he figured he might as well sit and enjoy the ride. He got so caught up in the beautiful scenery and the different Pokémon flitting about that he didn't notice the Pokémon Center._

 _Terrador stopped abruptly, flinging Steven over his massive head. He managed to land on his feet, but his momentum forced him forward and he slammed straight into the Center's glass doors, the left half of his face mashed into them, with a resounding, dull '_ _ **thung!**_ '

 _As they quickly slid open, he fell suddenly forward. "Whoa!" He caught himself just before he hit the floor, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked up at Nurse Joy, who was giggling loudly. The Taillow was sitting on Frita's shoulder and she was giving him a one eyebrow raised look. "Smooth move, Snorlax." He had sighed, hanging his head in shame before eventually heaving himself up off the floor._

Everyone at the table laughed, including Steven. "Yeah, those doors are definitely solidly built. Heh."

"Oh, I know," Jethro said, shaking his head. "I've seen several poor Bird-Pokemon smack right into those things. Scared me out of my wits once, I was reading a book, getting into it, then suddenly a sharp _**thwack!**_ I nearly left the chair… it was a Starly in Eterna City…" He took a sip from his glass of iced water. "Poor little guy had a concussion for about four days."

Frita nudged Steven, "Yeah well, boy am I glad he didn't get one then. It was already bad enough having to go through one." Steven narrowed his eyes at her. "Try being the one who **HAS** one." Jethro raised his eyebrows and glass. "Touche," he said.


	6. Sharp Reflexes

Felicia grinned as Jethro went to take another sip. "You're remembering the time I clocked you in the face and put you in a mini-coma, aren't you?" she asked. Jethro nearly spat his drink everywhere, putting a napkin to his nose as water came flooding out from him snorting so hard.

Frita raised her eyebrows, leaning forward. "Do tell." It was hard to take her seriously though, because she had taken another bite of the ridiculously sugarcoated croissant and had gotten it all over her face again.

 **It was some time between Jethro defeating the Unova League and the Sinnoh League. Felicia was helping the herb shop with some inventory, seeing as how the regular staff was shorthanded that day. The shop owners were very grateful for her help in putting a few things on the top shelf, the job that the absent staff member usually managed.**

 **She was just getting down from the stepstool she used to place some Revival Herbs on a higher shelf when she suddenly felt someone's arms wrap around her waist, just underneath her belly shirt.**

"Now," Jethro added, "when I say that Felicia here is violently ticklish, I mean it."

 **The sudden action had caused her defensive reflexes to take over, her tricep flying up and back, smacking Jethro square in the nose. After his grip loosened, Felicia turned to see who it was, and her hands immediately flew to her mouth in surprise. Jethro's gaze was starting to go skyward, and before he collapsed backward to the floor with a** _ **thud**_ **, he managed to get out two words in a slur:**

" **Good...shot."**

 **After determining that she hadn't just killed her boyfriend, Felicia and the storeowners managed to carry him to the Pokemon Center, where he was put in a bed for about an hour or two. Felicia stood out in the lobby for a good portion of the first hour, pacing back and forth in an attempt to calm herself. She wasn't aware that he was coming home, so his sudden appearance had come to her as someone else trying to get fresh. Eventually, she went in to sit down beside him and hold his hand.**

" **Look, Jethro, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know it was you behind me, so I just kinda… y'know…" she started. She sighed, a slight air of annoyance evident within it. "Look, maybe if you called me or let me know ahead of time, this may not have happened! Seriously, you know how jumpy I can be!"**

" **Must've slipped my mind," the reply came. Felicia's eyes widened as she whipped her head up to look at Jethro's face. His eyes were still closed, but a wide smile had spread across his mouth. Felicia managed a smile of her own, uncontrollably laughing a little at the same time. The young man opened his eyes and slowly sat up, still beaming. "As soon as I saw you, all other thoughts basically flew out of my mind," he said, squeezing her hand gently.**

" **Obviously!" Felicia laughed as she squeezed back. "You didn't even say anything to let me know you were there!"**

" **Sometimes the best moments of a reunion are the ones you never see coming," Jethro said lowly as he caressed the young woman's cheek with his free hand.**

 **Nurse Joy had come in at that moment, freezing in the doorway upon seeing the two of them. They both looked up, and Jethro flashed her a quick smile as he got up from the bed. "Don't worry, Nurse Joy," he said. "I'm perfectly fi-!" His reassurance was made null as his feet refused to move, causing him to fall face-first to the floor. Just before he hit the ground, he managed to put one arm out and twist himself to land on his back, where he looked at Felicia.**

" **I fear for the next man's life when you actually** _ **intend**_ **on getting in a headshot!" he chuckled. Both ladies helped him to his feet and back onto the bed. After giving him a check up, Nurse Joy stated his condition to be perfectly fine and that he merely needed to re-coordinate his systems. The jolt from Felicia's blow had simply given his brain a bit of a shock.**

"After that, we went to the hot springs for a little relaxation and healing," Felicia said. She looked over to Jethro and shook her head. "I felt so bad for doing that, and I still kind of do," she chuckled.

"Don't be, it was a good hit!" Jethro assured her. "I laughed a little every time I bumped it or jarred it for about a week. I kept from blowing it until it fully healed in fear of passing out again." He laughed. "Could you imagine that? Just seeing me," he put his hands to his nose and imitated holding a tissue, blowing his nose, and slumped forward, "thud, flat on the ground!"

Frita snickered and Steven whacked her arm. "That would certainly be unfortunate." Despite his actions, a smile still came to his face.


	7. The Comforter Creature

Right in the middle of their conversation, Steven's face gained an odd expression. "Frita," He said, turning to her. "Hm?" She tilted her head and looked at him. "You're doing that thing again." Her face donned a confused look. "What thing?" Steven blinked, looking down at his arm. "That thing with the fabric." Frita looked down, her face flushing with embarrassment. She had a little piece of Steven's shirt sleeve and was rubbing it back and forth between her middle finger and her thumb. If everyone listened close, the sound of the fabric passing by itself could be heard in a soft sort of ' _shuff'_ noise.

It was Jethro's turn to tilt his head in confusion. "What exactly **are** you doing?" Frita let go of Steven's sleeve and poked at her face in embarrassment. "I just...I like the feeling of the fabric between my fingers when it rubs together. It's just a thing I do. I've been doing that since I was little." Steven smiled. "It's like a Glameow kneading a blanket, literally. She visited my house once, and I only turned around for a second. Next thing I knew, she had somehow gotten a hold of my comforter and was playing with the fabric...and then she proceeded to bury herself in it." He chuckled.

Jethro smirked. "Yeah, that sounds like her." Frita stuck her tongue out playfully. "What? I like soft, warm, poofy blankets."

 _Frita had visited Steven's house with the original intention of helping him with research into rare stones from Mara, but while she was sitting on the couch, she had spotted his comforter through the doorway to his bedroom. She had tried not to focus on it too much, but it just looked so comfy. While he was distracted, she had dashed into his room and ripped the poofy bedding from it's place covering the sheets, and had brought it back to the couch in Steven's living room._

 _Steven had stopped in his tracks and had straightened, confused._ ' _ **riff, riff, riff'**_ _He turned, his mouth open in the beginning of a question and abruptly closed it when he saw the couch. Frita had flung his comforter across her lap, and had taken the top layer of fabric in her fingers, rubbing it together to produce a funny, rough sounding noise._ ' _ **riff, riff, riff…'**_ _She had frozen upon seeing Steven staring at her. She blinked at him, and he blinked back at her._ ' _ **...riff...'**_ _He had tilted his head, a half smile on his face, and had opened his mouth again to speak. Before he could get any words out, Frita had hissed at him and flung the bedding all over the place until she had been covered in it._

 _The lump that Frita had become awkwardly shuffled several times until she had apparently gotten comfy, and had pulled the blanket back just enough to reveal her eyes, which glinted a bit from the light in the room. She grabbed one corner of the comforter and slowly folded it under, before quickly pulling it back down over her face, all the while staring straight at Steven. Afterward, he could hear a muffled,_ ' _ **riff, riff, riff'**_

"I tried pulling the blanket off her at one point, but that was met with a lot of angry noises, so I decided that this particular day, was **not** the day I felt like dying." He grinned and took a sip of his drink.

The couple across from them laughed heartily. "That reminds me of what I used to do when I was a little kid," Jethro said. "I used to be called the 'Blanket Bug'."

"You know, that isn't the only time she's done something like that," Steven began.


	8. Blanket Ninja

_After constantly being pestered by Wallace, and crazed fangirls, Steven had finally managed to get some alone time, just him and his collection of rare stones. He had begun to catalogue them and fit them into his display cases when his bedroom door suddenly opened._

 _What was later revealed to be Frita, shuffled out of his room covered in all of his bedding short of the fitted sheet. As she slowly shuffled across the room, Frita paused to stare at him before shuffling over to the fridge._

 _She dug in it for several seconds before shuffling away. She paused again, turning to Steven. She had a bottle of pop in her hands, and a sandwich half stuffed in her mouth. She gave him a silent "what up" before cracking the lid on the bottle and shuffling slowly back into his room._

 _After staring at the bedroom door for a long while, Steven had slowly turned to look at his front door, then back at the bedroom._

"I still don't know how in Arceus's name you managed to get into my house." Frita gave Steven a cheeky smile. "Come to think of it, what were you even doing in my room anyway?"

Frita winked at her boyfriend. "You'll never know." Steven sighed, shaking his head. "At least I wasn't dancing, like you and Wallace!" She snickered, grinning.

"Ohhh, this oughta be good," Jethro said, leaning back in his seat.


	9. Dancin' Like Nobody's Watching!

"Oh, ARCEUS NO!" Steven shouted, horrified. "Not that one, anything but that one!" Frita shook her head. "Nope. No escaping it now, you brought this on yourself." Frita cleared her throat and began speaking.

 _She had left Steven and Wallace at her house, with Keith, so she could go deal with a few minor League Matters without worrying about someone breaking in. She had let out a sigh. Dealing with League matters was both boring and a massive pain. She had stopped on her way home to grab a bite to eat, and by bite she really meant she had basically mugged the hotdog guy. Fortunately, being the Grand Champion came with the perks of never being reported for any crimes. Not that it mattered if she was, no one would believe them, and it was her word against theirs._

 _She had frowned upon reaching her house, to find unusual music coming from inside, but she assumed it must be Keith's doing. He certainly loved music, and wouldn't hesitate to blast any kind of it from his portable speakers. Currently, dance music was pouring quietly out of Frita's house. She walked in the door, hotdog in hand, to find herself staring directly at Steven and Wallace._

"Oh, man. **Pleeeease** no." Steven had managed to cram his tall skinny frame as much as was possible down in his chair. He had completely buried his face behind his arms and knees, and was borderline hiding under the table.

 _Frita had walked in on Steven and Wallace having a dance battle...to "Bad Romance" no less. Steven had frozen like a Sudowoodo when he had spotted her, but Wallace just waved and continued to dance. Frita's eyes had widened, and she had gained a devilish grin. She had waved her hand at them. "By all means, continue." Steven had continued dancing, very poorly to be honest, and in the end Wallace had won because Steven had fled in shame. Though she had been told that Steven was, in fact, a rather good dancer._

Jethro couldn't help but snort violently. Felicia smacked his arm, though she herself was smiling as well. Jethro looked at her and shrugged.

Steven let out a little whine and refused to look at anyone.

"You've done it, too, y'know!" Felicia protested. Jethro half laughed, half squawked in terror at the mention of a mutual embarrassment, his eyes wide with fear. Steven looked up, eyebrows raised. Jethro smiled, gesturing towards him.

"Hey, at least you won't feel bad about being the only one!"

 _ **Wanna see Steven Dance? Follow this link!**_ _ **www. youtube watch?v=4n5Dy8OW4KQ &index=59&list=LLRQLPTlRLndMoh4I-P_OVRg**_


	10. Daaaaaance To The Muuuusic!

"Now _this,"_ Felicia said, scooting her seat forward, "you gotta hear!"

 **Jethro was known for many things around the world. His Pokemon, his victories over several Leagues… but what not very many people knew…**

 **Was the way he moved to a catchy tune.**

 **Felicia first discovered this fact when they had gone shopping together for groceries.**

 **The song started out fairly upbeat, and Felicia was busy looking at the list of things to get for the Gym. It wasn't long before she heard a sudden shuffle behind her. She whipped around, only to see Jethro looking right back at her.**

" **What was that?" she asked.**

" **What was what…?" Jethro asked quickly. "I didn't hear anything." He looked behind him, trying to see what she meant. Felicia raised an eyebrow, and then turned back to the cart. A few seconds later, she had managed to glance back, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jethro shuffling his feet to the beat of the music, keeping up with her. She whipped back and looked her boyfriend dead in the eyes. He looked back, eyes wide, cheeks red. He smiled sheepishly.**

" **Hiiiii…!" he said. Felicia snorted and shook her head.**

" **You dork," she muttered. Jethro smiled and walked next to her the rest of the grocery trip.**

"So, anyway-" Jethro began.

"Oh, no!" Felicia interrupted. "I'm not done yet!"

"Ah, nuts," Jethro muttered. Frita snickered, and Steven continued to hide, occasionally peeking up from behind his limbs.

 **The one time that the musical theory of bodily persuasion was proved for a fact was when Felicia and Jethro were alone at his home for a few hours while his parents had gone out on an errand run. The two had helped his parents repair a shed for the Pokemon on the ranch, and Jethro had, at one point, decided to get a little playful and douse Felicia with the hose that they were drinking from. Felicia had gotten him back just as good, and his parents got in on it too. After his parents had dried off, they went into town to get more materials for the shed.**

 **Felicia was drying off in the bathroom and putting on a dry set of clothes when she suddenly heard a song being turned up. Putting her hair in a towel, she walked out to see Jethro, already dried and changed, jamming out to a different upbeat pop song. She wasn't sure what exactly he was doing (and neither was he, to be honest), but it wasn't exactly dancing. It was just… coordinated body movements in time with the tempo. He was facing away from her at first, but when he turned around and saw her, he froze on the spot, one foot halfway off the ground. His face turned as red as the top part of a Poke Ball, and he slowly scooted out of the room, Felicia still laughing.**

Frita snickered again, almost half snorting trying to keep it in. Eventually she gave up and flat out laughed, occasionally squeaking as she sucked in a breath in the middle. Steven finally stopped trying to hide, deciding that the attention had been satisfactorily drawn away from him. Jethro turned a deep red, scratching his nose as the women continued to laugh. He looked at Steven and grinned suddenly.

"You suppose it's their turn to have embarrassing stories told about them?" he asked mischievously. "I think it's only fair." Steven nodded, smiling mischievously.


	11. Sour Notes

"What about that time you actually tried to sing?" Frita went silent suddenly, and turned to Steven. "I swear if you say a word…" Steven raised an eyebrow and grinned.

 _Steven had gotten up early at one point after staying at one of Frita's houses. He had made coffee, and had suddenly paused, hearing a very odd noise. He tilted his head in confusion, walking around the house trying to find its source._

 _Eventually, he came to a stop in front of the bathroom. To his knowledge, no one was in the house but him, and he was confused. The sound stopped, and he heard Frita's voice from the other side of the door._

 _The sound continued, and he realized that the Arceus-awful sound was actually Frita singing. She hit a particularly high note, and Steven cringed. He jumped in terror as his coffee cup shattered in his hand. The pieces crashed to the floor, and he spent ten minutes cleaning it all up._

"I thought someone was torturing a Delcatty." Steven snickered. "I mean, it was the worst thing I'd ever heard. Apparently she can play guitar, but she can't sing to save her life." Jethro and Felicia chuckled.

"Well, being musically talented doesn't require you master all fields of it," Jethro said matter-of-factly. "You remember the little recorders they gave us in Pokemon school?" He shuddered. "Nails on a chalkboard, those things…" Steven coughed. "Still better than Frita." He coughed again. Frita frowned and slugged him in the arm. He winced and rubbed his shoulder, grimacing.


	12. A Snowy Surprise!

"Seriously, though, from what I've heard you do, you could be the champion of instrumentals for years!" Jethro assured. He sat back and suddenly his eyes went wide. He turned to look at Felicia with a devious grin. She looked back at him with a wary face of concern.

"Whaaat?" she asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Ohh, something you're probably gonna kill me for," he snickered.

 **Felicia had made the decision to sleep in one day. She finally woke up, stretching and yawning. She swung her legs off the side of the bed, sitting there for a moment before finally getting up. She put her robe on over her pajamas and walked into the kitchen. There was a sudden knock on the door, or rather a pounding as if it were urgent. She moved somewhat sluggishly to see who it was.**

" **Coming!" she called as she turned the doorknob and opened the door. "Who is-** _ **whoa!"**_

 **Unbeknownst to her, it had snowed the night before. Quite heavily, too. There was about three to five inches of snow covering everything. Including the porch, which had gotten rather slick, as she found out. She slipped and fell, slowly sliding right into Jethro, who was dressed in full winter attire. During the slipping and sliding, her pajamas and robe had slid up on her, and her face went dark red as she looked up at her boyfriend, who looked back down at her with a goofy grin.**

" **Well, that's** _ **one**_ **way to start the morning," he said, helping her up and carrying her back to the house.**

" **When did this happen?" Felicia asked.**

" **Hon, it's the middle of January," Jethro said. "Didn't you pay attention to the forecast?"**

 **Felicia looked away sheepishly. "I… may have stayed up reading a little longer than I thought and missed the news," she said.**

 **Jethro chuckled as they went inside and made a few cups of hot chocolate.**

"One of my most embarrassing moments, having my pajamas slide up like that," Felicia said, her face turning red. Jethro smiled sympathetically, leaned over to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"I really didn't pay attention to it," he said. "I was too focused on the fact that you forgot it was winter." Felicia grumbled and shrank in her seat.

"That wasn't all too great a moment, either," she muttered.

"You were fine," Jethro said, rubbing her shoulder. "We had hot chocolate together, and that's always a good moment." Frita snorted in amusement across the table.


	13. Oh No She Di-WHAM

"There was another time, you know…" Steven spoke up again.

 _The Pokemon League held a meeting of all Regional Champions every three months, and all Champions were required to attend regardless of what they might be currently doing (with the exception of emergencies)._

"And, as usual, Frita the Firecracker is last to arrive," Steven grinned at Frita and she narrowed her eyes at him.

 _Frita had strolled in casually, around ten minutes late, and had plopped down in the one and only chair at the head of the table. 'Humble' as she was, she still liked to act like royalty, and so her chair was not only at the head of the table, but it was ornately decorated compared to the others. It would seem that on this particular day, Cynthia, whom Frita didn't much care for in the first place, was having a bit of a rough time. She began complaining about Frita always being late. Frita had countered by stating that she was "far more busy than anyone who had to worry about just ONE region."_

 _Cynthia had snorted indignantly, stating that she had just as much responsibility as anyone else. Frita had responded with an insult, something along the lines of "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it's just too much for your_ _ **blonde**_ _little head to handle."_

 _Cynthia had snapped back at Frita, and had then gone so far as to both insult her (and her fashion sense) and Charlie. Frita simply would NOT stand for such things. She rose, surprisingly gracefully, and strode toward the door. Without the Grand Champion, League Meetings could not begin, which would mean that until Cynthia apologized everyone would be stuck there for the whole day and however many days after that until Frita calmed down and returned._

 _On her way out, Frita was so concerned with acting indignant that she wasn't paying enough attention to where she was going. She slammed straight into the doorframe, adding to her humiliation. She paused, blinking for a few moments, before she clenched her fists and stormed out. A few small chuckles followed her._

"And I don't just mean that she ran into it, she flat out face-planted straight into the doorframe. It was hilarious." Steven chuckled and Frita snorted steam from her nose, crossing her arms.

Jethro couldn't help but guffaw loudly, covering his mouth as Felicia elbowed him. He snickered again. "She's beauty, she's grace, she hits doors with her _face…!"_ The final word came out in a higher pitch than he intended.

Frita glared at him, her eyes glowing green. She was thirty seconds away from beating him to a pulp or burning him alive. The only thing stopping her was her indecision on which one to use for his murder.

Jethro's face turned pale as sweat began to drip from his forehead. "Easy, Frita, easy," he choked.

"That's what you get," Felicia said, shaking her head.


	14. Wondercoat

"And I'm not done yet," Steven continued. Judging by Frita's expression, he apparently wanted to dig the hole he was in even deeper.

"We went to visit a good friend of mine up in Sinnoh…"

 _Frita didn't much care for the Sinnoh Region, except for Stark Mountain, and she only liked that place because there was a volcano there._

 _Steven's friend happened to live in Snowpoint City. Ironic, really. He researched rocks in a place where there was so much snow that you could never really see the ground anyway._

 _When they had gotten off the boat, Frita had wedged herself under the back of Steven's coat. Cold didn't normally bother her, but she had been unprepared for it this time._

"SOMEONE didn't tell me we were going to Snowpoint," she interrupted. "Yes, well, moving on." Steven cleared his throat.

 _He had protested, eventually forcing Frita to get off him and let go of her choke-hold on his coat. His friend had come to meet him at the port, and they chatted for a few short minutes before they both turned to call to Frita, and their voices caught for a moment._

 _Frita shuffled up to them. She was wearing the strangest coat, that went almost to the ground. It was blue and yellow, and POOFY. It made her look like a Snorunt. It even had a pointed hood._

"Wallace made it for me," Frita chirped happily. "It's filled with Swanna down and lined with Mareep fleece."

Steven shook his head. "Yes, but...WHERE DID YOU GET IT?! You had no luggage with you when we got on that boat!"

Frita grinned mischievously. "That YOU know of."

Steven's eyes widened and he pulled an 'I Can't Even' face, shaking his head.

"Never short of surprises," Jethro said, crossing his arms. "I wonder if she's the monster-sized Snorunt I heard about a while ago."

They both responded in unison. "You heard about a monster-sized Snorunt?"

Jethro guffawed. "I'm assuming it was actually Frita that got confused for one. How often did you go exploring while you were in Snowpoint?"

Steven shrugged. "Often-ish...I guess. I have no idea how often she went out. We were usually gone and she was snuggled in front of a fireplace when we left and in the same place whenever we came back."

Felicia looked to Frita. "You weren't sneaking around on your own, were you?" she asked. "I know that snow doesn't really bother you that much, but even Snowpoint's that cold."

Frita tilted her head in confusion at Felicia's comment. "Um...to you maybe? I guess you've never had the pleasure of swimming in Lake Acuity." Frita's face lit up at the thought.

"Ohh, this one should be entertaining," Jethro said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

Frita winked at him. "A story for another time, but if you must know that's how I met Sweetpea."

Steven held his hands up to stop them. "Wait...you were leaving after we left, and then coming back and sitting down in the EXACT SAME WAY every time? WHY? You could have just come with us."

Frita turned away from him. "I, yeah...I really wanted to hunt rocks with you, Steven. Because you know how well that turns out."

"I want to hear about how you actually met the little bugger," Jethro said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that obnoxious," Felicia said.

"You haven't met Sweetpea."

Frita sighed.


	15. Sweetpeas

"It was a very long time ago…" She glared directly at Jethro with a 'You're such a massive pain in the butt' look.

 _It was just after Frita had beaten Juan and assumed the title of Champion of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. She had made her way through most of Sinnoh in a few weeks and had stopped just outside Snowpoint City._

 _The cold weather was welcome to her, and the lake, Acuity, was beautiful. Snow gently floated down from the heavens and landed on its surface. Frita took a deep breath, letting it out in a misty sigh. It was ridiculously quiet. She couldn't even hear the sounds of any local Pokemon._

 _She just couldn't help herself. The more she looked at the lake the more tempted she was to go for a swim. Frita had a natural aversion to water, but she did rather enjoy swimming, and wouldn't mind the cold water on her skin as long as she didn't drink any and lower her body temp._

 _If she wasn't careful she could turn to stone that way and go into a heavy stasis that could be fatal. She tentatively dipped a toe in the water. She had already been wearing her swimsuit, after having come from the coast near Pastoria City, and decided suddenly to simply dive in._

 _She floated aimlessly on her back for a good while, and when she finally righted herself, she saw a small figure on the shore digging through her bag. She swam quietly up to it. It was a tattered and beaten Sneasel, with a nasty scar down his back. He had matted fluff and fur, and a long patch of thickly matted fur over one eye. It was a wonder he could see out of it._

 _His claws appeared to be semi-short, but sharp as knives regardless. He was trying in vain to open one of Frita's Pokemon Cookie bags. "If you want something to eat I can share with you." She said, her voice soft. The Pokemon jumped, whipping around and hissing furiously._

 _Frita reached out to open the bag in his claws, and he slashed at her. He left a nasty little gash, and magma oozed from it, pooling on the ground before hardening up. Regardless, she continued as if nothing happened, opening the bag and handing him one of the pale blue cookies. He devoured it ravenously and glared at her before hissing and diving into a nearby clump of bushes._

 _Frita stayed camped next to the lake for several days. It was much easier to handle than the big cities in the rest of Sinnoh, and a welcome break. During that time, she saw the Sneasel fairly often. He seemed fascinated with her, and at one point she had had to chase him down because he had stolen her jeans after she went swimming. She found him rummaging in her bag another day, and closed him in it until he found his way out, hissing and spitting._

 _At one point, she played a reflex game with him, tapping his paws so he'd swipe at her before booping his nose and declaring that she had won the game. After a while, he seemed to enjoy the challenge of catching her hand in his sturdy claws. He still didn't like to be touched, and never came too close to her, but he at least seemed to like her just a little._

 _At one point, she woke up to find him wearing one of her t-shirts. It was clearly too big for him, and nearly reached his feet. She had to tackle him to get it back, and he hissed indignantly and tried to steal it again...TWICE._

 _She was ever patient, and put up with his antics the entire time. She was packing up her things, and getting ready to leave when she heard the most awful ruckus. The Sneasel burst from the bushes, squealing and screeching in terror. He was followed by a very large man in boots and a black and grey body suit. He was wearing a strange gold, black and red mask on his face and had a dark brown, spiky beard. He had red armor on and was holding a strange Pokeball._

" _Get back here you little runt!" He ran at the Sneasel, who screeched and slashed at him. Frita's eyes widened as she saw the Sneasel extend his claws for the first time. They were very long, so long that they stuck out of his paws, even retracted. He was much older than Frita thought._

" _You managed to free yourself last time, but you're not getting away again, you ungrateful whelp!" Frita jumped to the Pokemon's defense, much to his surprise. "I don't think so!" The man before her growled. "Outta the way, girlie. Unless you wanna get hurt." He growled the last part, taking and intimidating step forward. Frita let out a whistle and the lake exploded behind her. Charlie had been swimming in it, much to the man's surprise and terror._

 _He let out a booming roar, shaking the ground as he dove from the pool to stand before Frita and her newfound Pokemon friend. But the man didn't have the reaction she had expected. Instead he grinned in delight. He threw the odd Pokeball, catching Charlie in it. Frita was confused for a moment before the man boomed, "This is a Dark Ball, fool! Your Pokemon is MINE now!" Before he could finish speaking, the ball erupted, bursting apart._

 _Charlie let out a murderous roar. His eyes had suddenly became cold, and he was entirely unlike his old self. He nearly killed the man, who escaped, and Frita had to wrangle him in. The Sneasel never left her side after that, and if she ever sent him away he was extremely unhappy._

"Charlie's been...off ever since." Frita looked down at her plate quietly.

Felicia merely looked at her in silence. Jethro, however, was a little more tense.

"That son of a Ditto," he snarled, his fist clenched and teeth grinding slightly. Steven blinked at him, confused. Jethro looked back at him. "What?"

"I just...this seems...personal to you. That's all." Jethro nodded and unclenched his fist.

"Oh," he said. "Yeah, I have a thing out for people who use Dark Balls. The morons who attacked Professor Birch's Lab, The Iron Masked Marauder, the Dark Trainer that attacked the Center in Sinnoh…the Sinister Division…" His fist clenched again, and Felicia rubbed his back soothingly, instantly calming him down.

Frita had been watching him quietly across the table. Steven decided to lighten the mood some. "Did you know Frita hates squirtbottles?"


	16. Like a Skitty

Jethro perked up, looking at Frita with a raised eyebrow in a mix of amusement and confusion. "Seriously? Squirtbottles?" Steven nodded, grinning. "I found out when she visited my house once…"

 _Frita had come to visit Steven, as she often did, after he had just finished sorting his newest stone specimens. He was cleaning the cases with a bottle of water and a cloth when she came through the door without asking._

 _He jumped as the door suddenly flew open and Frita let herself in, immediately taking it upon herself to raid his fridge. He had let out a sigh. "You know, I have a doorbell…" Fri had shrugged. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" He had let out an irritated huff._

 _Wallace had visited the day before, and had cooked Steven's favorite dish. He had made extra so Steven could eat it again the next day (as he rarely cooked and almost never got to eat his favorite food). Frita pulled said dish from the fridge, sniffing at it._

 _Her eyes lit up. "Oh this smells good. Yummy!" She went to pop the container open when Steven stopped her. "No. This one is MINE." Fri had grinned at him. "Not anymore, it's not!" She had proceeded to open the container, playing keep away with Steven. In a last ditch effort to stop her, he had squirted her with the squirtbottle, getting water in her face._

 _She had dropped the container, which he had caught, in surprise. She blinked. "Did you just...squirt me?" Steven nodded curtly. "Yes." Frita's eyes widened. "Do I LOOK like a Skitty to you?!" Steven paused, having put the container back in the fridge. He looked at her closely, then pulled the trigger on the squirtbottle again just for kicks._

 _Frita hissed in irritation and shied away. Steven had grinned, chasing her out of his house and down the street with the squirtbottle, occasionally blasting her with water as she hissed and spit at him._

"Oh, it was great. I still keep a squirtbottle in the kitchen just in case."

Jethro's body was shaking as he chuckled, shaking his head. Felicia covered her mouth as she laughed, raising a hand in a failed attempt to verbally apologize.

"For one who isn't a Skitty, you sure know how to act like one," Jethro finally managed to say.

"OH, CAN IT, WISEGUY." She crossed her arms and looked away. "Stupid bottle…" The couple on the other side of the table chuckled again.

"It makes a tiny bit of sense now, though, given the fact you're a Fire Golem," Jethro observed.

"It's actually a little terrifying if you don't know it," Steven commented, "especially when she turned to stone at one point."

"Have you ever seen her do that?" Steven asked.

Jethro guffawed, less out of humor and more out of mutual understanding. "Yeah… that was a fun trip," he muttered. "Back at Geosenge, you mean?"

Steven shook his head. "No. When she gets too cold, or tired, her...outer layer? I guess that's the term for it, turns to stone. She basically gets a stone shell. It makes her look like a statue."

"No wonder you have something for her," Felicia said, winking at him. Jethro snorted and elbowed her gently in her ribs.

Steven blushed, more out of shock than embarrassment. "I...um...funny. Very funny. I see what you did there."

"I'm surprised that didn't happen at Lake Acuity, then," Jethro pointed out. "But please, enlighten us."

Steven looked thoughtful. "Well, it's more if her internal temperature drops...if she had drank the water, then maybe it would have affected her. I've noticed that cold that comes into contact with her skin just evaporates. I think Wallace dumped a pitcher of ice water down her throat once when she was ranting."

"She tried to chase him before she started getting slower and slower and turned to stone. It was terrifying. Wallace didn't know what was happening. We thought we had killed her for a while. And she wouldn't tell us why it happened afterward," He finished, winded. Jethro just glanced at Frita with a raised eyebrow and then looked back to Steven.

"But eventually she broke her way out of the shell. It was like watching a Metapod evolve."

"Huh," was all Jethro said in response.

"Strange things happen with her. You get used to it...after a while." Steven glanced at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

Jethro smirked. "Kinda cute when she does that, isn't it?" he asked Steven. Felicia cleared her throat and gave him a look with a cheeky grin. His face flushed and he stammered. "I didn't mean it like- that's not what I- I'm just digging myself a crater, here, where is the dessert?" he asked, looking around the restaurant.


	17. Full Hearts

As if on command, Siebold came up to their table with a pastry cart. He picked up all four plates at once a swept gracefully around the table with them, placing them perfectly before coming to a halt next to the cart with his arms folded behind him.

"You, _monsieur_ , are a life-saver," Jethro said gladly.

Frita looked down at her plate and her whole face lit up. She clapped a few times in excitement. "Sebby, you know me so well!"

The man's eyebrow twitched at the nickname, but he simply bowed. "I'm pleased to know you're satisfied with my choice of desserts." Steven, on the other hand, looked down at his plate with a small grimace. Siebold's eyes narrowed. "Is this not to your liking, Mr. Stone?" Steven looked up, surprise on his face. "Hm? Oh, I'm…not particularly a fan of sweets I'm afraid." Frita grinned, her mouth was already full of Chocolate Lava Cake, and she had chocolate on her face. "I'wl ea' ih!" She mumbled through her mouthful of decadence.

Siebold had to purse his lips to avoid laughing at her, and Jethro could barely contain a violent snort. It really was funny to see her with Patrat cheeks and her mouth covered in chocolate like a 4 year old. Steven rolled his eyes with a grin. "Yeah, I know YOU will." The couple across the table laughed and Jethro, who had been taking a sip of water at the time, nearly had his drink come out his nose. He coughed and spluttered, thumping his chest with a fist a few times. Felicia rubbed his back soothingly and he threw her a grateful and loving smile.

Siebold cleared his throat. "You may wish to try this one, Mr. Stone. You might find it to your liking." Steven raised his eyebrows, but gave a small shrug. "Alright, I guess I should take a page from Frita's book and at least try it once." Frita gave him a chubby cheeked chocolate smile and he chuckled and shook his head. He took the tiny dessert fork and cut into the pastry before him. A fruit filling leaked out and he soaked the pastry bite in it before daintily plopping it in his mouth. He had excellent table manners.

His face lit up in surprise. "You're right!" He said, stabbing Frita in the hand with the fork as she tried to reach for his plate. She pulled her hand back and narrowed her eyes at him, and he copied her. "I very much like…whatever this is." Siebold gave another bow. "I'll be sure to send you home with the recipe."

Jethro and Felicia found their desserts to their liking, and with that Siebold was off to tend to other customers.

"I always found delicacies from other Regions so enticing," Jethro said between bites, closing his eyes and moaning contently as his tastebuds sang, touching the tips of his forefinger and thumb together, shaking his other spread fingers and swallowing. " _Magnifique!"_

Frita raised an eyebrow."That's the only Kalosian word you know, isn't it?"

"Well, I know _monsieur…_ aaaand- well, I haven't been here all that long. It's a bit sketchy, but I know some sentences," Jethro said, rolling a hand.

"Most of them are sappy phrases to try and make me blush," Felicia said nonchalantly. Jethro's hand dropped.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," he said, giving her a cheeky side glare. "Don't say they haven't worked, I know I've gotten you a few times."

"Oh, I'm not saying they didn't work, I'm just saying that's the most of what you know."

"And is that such a bad thing?"

"Only when you need to ask a local where to go and you end up flirting with them."

Jethro was still for a moment and nodded, taking another bite of his dessert. " _Touche,"_ he said.

"My what?" Felicia asked, an eyebrow raising. Jethro snorted and dropped his fork, putting a hand to his head.

"No no, _tou_ _ **che**_ _,"_ he repeated, emphasizing the last vowel. "Not tushy. It's a way of saying good point."

Frita snickered and Steven let out a snort. "Votre français est terrible," he commented.

Jethro drew himself up and raised his eyebrows. "Au moins il est pas aussi mauvais que ma petite amie," he retorted.

"That's only because I don't travel as often as you do and stay gone for more time than I'm comfortable with!" Felicia protested. All eyes turned to her in surprise, and she shrugged her shoulders. "What? I may not be able to speak it, but I did some studies before I got here."

Jethro leaned toward Steven and motioned his thumb towards her. "Now that? That right there is one of the reasons I'm so into this woman," he said lowly.

"I can hear you," the aforementioned young woman said.

"I know," Jethro said blatantly. Felicia smacked him on the arm playfully and he broke out into a wide grin, turning to beam at her.

Steven simply shook his head. "Je crains français de ma copine est pas très bon non plus." Frita narrowed her eyes at him. "That was a shot at me, wasn't it?" He held his hands up in surrender. "I have no idea what you're talking about, mon amour."

Frita snorted. "I never bothered learning anything other than basic Kalosian simply because I never needed to. After all, you speak perfect Kalosian. One of the perks of being half native, I suppose." Steven shot her a dangerous side glance. His disapproval was obvious.

Both Jethro and Felicia perked up at that. Jethro put his fork down and crossed his arms. "Okay, now _this_ I gotta hear," he said, eyebrows raised.

Steven let out a deep sigh. "Fine." He cleared his throat, pausing to decide the proper words to use.

" _When I was a little boy, I spent summer after summer in Kalos. My mother was Kalosian, and she loved to visit her home region. We'd all come for visits as a family. Dad was less busy then. I think it was mainly because of mom, he had her to convince him to devote more time to his family. When I turned seven, my mother got sick._

 _Regardless of her failing health, she insisted that I learn just as much about Kalos as I knew about Hoenn. She taught me Kalosian, so I'd know how to speak my native language. My dad didn't exactly approve, but he couldn't say he really disapproved either. She taught me all the legends of the region. Almost everything I know about Kalos I learned from her._

 _But she just kept getting worse and worse. She passed away when I was nine. And I haven't really visited Kalos since then. Not the way I used to. Dad cut out nearly everything that reminded him of her."_

He sighed. "And now you know. I'm half Kalosian and Hoennite." Frita smiled at him. "That's good." Steven gave her an incredulous look. "My depressing past is good?" He snorted. She sighed and flicked his forehead. "No, you dunce. You've only ever shared this with me and Wallace, since he was your childhood friend and all. You're beginning to open up about it...you're finally looking forward instead of being held back. I'm just...I'm proud of you."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he threw her a halfhearted smile. "I suppose you have a point." He gave a chuckle. "Wallace is like my shadow. He's not even here and I STILL can't get rid of him."

There was an indignant reply from somewhere behind them. "Get RID of me? What are you playing at, Steve?" Wallace leaned around a decorative column behind Frita and Steven. He was delicately holding a teacup.

"What the HELLGAR?! HAVE YOU BEEN HERE THE **WHOLE TIME**?" Steven glared at him in irritation.

Wallace chuckled. "I'm your **shadow,** remember? I'd be a poor excuse for a shadow if I didn't stalk you every once in awhile." He gave a wink and Frita rolled her eyes, giving him a playful smile as she shook her head.

Felicia nearly leapt out of her seat when he spoke, her hand flying to her chest. Jethro's eyes went wide and he leaned back, his jaw hanging loose. He blinked a few times before lazily throwing his right hand in the air. "You know what? I'm not even all that surprised at this point," he said, his head tilting to one side. "It's pretty much common knowledge by now; you can't have Steven in one place without Wallace being at least 20 yards away." He leaned forward and raised his middle and index fingers. "Okay, first question: exactly _how long_ have you been standing there listening to our stories- and I just realized how terrifying that is. Second question: I'm starting to question who's dating who right he- I mean, is this a love triangle or something that we weren't told about, is Frita in on this, I don't get- Oh-ho, okay, ow, that one hurt," he said as Felicia slugged him in the arm.

Wallace gracefully stood. "Actually, I've been **sitting** here since before you even came through the door. **I** was already here. And no, there is nothing happening besides some light stalking...cute as Steve may be." He winked and put the cup down, leaning over Steven and wrapping his arms around the man's shoulders. Steven immediately flailed awkwardly. "Get off me, you cretin!"

Wallace leaned back to avoid being headbutted and gave a slight chuckle. "For a Steel trainer you have a lot of Fire in you. Frita must be influencing you. I must say it's a change I rather enjoy. You're so much more fun to tease now." He patted Steven's head and the man stood abruptly. He glared right at Wallace, but his intimidation failed miserably. Not only was Wallace not scared of him in the slightest, but the whole thing was undermined by the fact that Wallace was exactly five inches taller than Steven, so he had to look up to glare at his childhood friend.

"Check, please," Jethro said nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on the two men.

"Should we be concerned…?" Felicia asked.

"Not yet," Jethro said, raising a finger off of the table. "I'll let you know."

Frita put her head in her hand and watched the pair. Wallace put his hands on his hips and confidently smiled down at Steven, leaning forward a little as if to challenge the smaller man.

Steven's eyebrow twitched. He was trying his hardest to maintain his old, cool attitude, but it was obviously hard for him. Maybe Frita's fire was rubbing off on him after all? He suddenly jumped forward, grabbing Wallace around the neck with one arm. He squealed, flailing, and began to fight back.

They tussled briefly, feet shuffling for a way to one up their opponent. "Ow! You little blue eyed brat! Not the hair!" Wallace flung his arm out, pushing Steven back. They circled each other, arms raised, like a pair of dueling Crabby on the beach.

"Can we worry now?" Felicia asked, a hand moving under the table.

"Wait for it," Jethro said slowly, his fingers drumming the tabletop.

They both lunged forward, but right before they would have collided they were halted by a menacing figure and a deeply malice laced voice.

"Just what do you think you're doing in my restaurant?" It hissed.

Siebold stepped forward, arms crossed. He was shorted than Wallace but taller than Steven by about an inch. His eyes burned with rage and his face was covered in an angry scowl.

The two men let out audible gulps. Siebold was holding a rather large knife in one hand.

"Sit. Now." The two complied, taking their respective seats, backs straight and posture perfect. Siebold strode casually forward, until he was standing next to Steven and in Wallace's line of sight.

He raised an arm and plunged the knife into the table with a loud bang, making both of them jump. "If you ever pull a stunt like this in here again I'll be serving **YOU** up on a silver platter. Consider yourselves lucky I'll still let you in the door." He wrenched the knife out of the table, leaving behind a receipt with a hefty stab wound in the middle of it.

Steven and Wallace let out relieved sighs.

"Think we need to worry now?" Jethro asked Felicia, calmly taking the receipt as if this was just another ordinary Tuesday.

"Nope!" Felicia chuckled nervously, watching Seibold with wide eyes as he walked away.

"Lovely manners, that man," Jethro said, checking the receipt over. He looked up at Steven, grinned, and looked over the piece of paper to Frita. "Ain't it so, Fri?"

Frita nodded, taking the receipt from him and looking it over while laughing hysterically. "So true," she wheezed. She handed Steven the receipt and smiled. He looked it over casually, it was a hefty bill. He pulled his wallet from his suit jacket and began thumbing through bills, taking out three of them, and then a fourth for a tip. "This should do." He commented.

Jethro clapped his hands together lightly, stopping Steven cold, and looked around the restaurant. "Alright, ladies and gents, boys and girls… and when I say boys, I mean the two of you," he said as he pointed between the still- petrified Wallace and wide-eyed Steven, adding a little salt to their wounds, "it's time to play a little game I like to call 'Who's Bill Are We Going to Pay Out of Generosity?' Contestants!" he said in a light grandiose, game-announcer voice, his arm sweeping around in gesture of those around him. "Take your picks!"

Steven let out an amused snort and pulled the bills back out of his wallet. "I'll just pay for all of it." Wallace grinned. "I was planning on sticking you with the bill anyway." Steven's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, you Son of a Bidoof." Wallace snickered. "Oh you, Son of a Billionaire."

"Penalty!" Jethro said, snapping suddenly. "Offensive bickering between contestants." He pointed to Frita. "Grand Champion, the chance to decide falls to you. Tell me, who. Will. You. Pick? Is it-?" He glanced around the restaurant. "The handsome gentleman in the nice suit?" he asked, gesturing to the man in a corner. "The new family that may be having issues?" A young couple sat at a booth, the mother holding a whimpering baby as the father held his head as he looked at the bill, as well as some additional paperwork. "Or perhaps, the young lovers outside on the patio?" The two were gazing into each other's eyes like there wasn't a thing in the world that could break their seemingly intense staring competition.

"Ooh! Maybe the three friends who are merely out for a casual bite to eat!" Three young men were chatting away at a table in the middle, obviously Trainers travelling together. "Please, take your pick."

Frita thrummed her fingers on the table. "Hm…" Her face had a wicked smile on it. "SIEBOLD!" The chef came strolling up to their table. "You called?" Frita grinned at Jethro. "I pick Siebold." She smiled wickedly. "Try to explain your way your of this one." She stood, taking Steven's arm, as he grinned at Jethro and Wallace, and strode toward the door.

Jethro's hand hung limply in the air, one eyebrow staying in place as the other furrowed in confusion. Felicia couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and squeezing her eyes shut. Jethro turned his hand in an 'I don't know how to respond' manner and looked at a confused Siebold. "I got nothin'," he said, handing him the cash for their receipt. "I honestly. Got. Nothin'."

Frita grinned over her shoulder as Steven laughed heartily. They stopped near the door and waited for the rest of their friends to join them.

Jethro took out his wallet and handed Siebold a large bill, jerking a thumb lazily behind him at the young couple. "For their bill," he said, taking Felicia's hand, kissing it, and walking her to the door with her arm in his.

Wallace stood indignantly. "Hey! What about me?!" Steven smiled slyly at him. "You're not broke...but you will be after paying that bill of yours."

Jethro let out a chuckle as the Hoenn Gym Leader begrudgingly paid his own bill. He came over to them in a huff, grumbling. "Maybe you'll rethink the idea of stalking Steven now?" Jethro asked, his eyes shining with amusement.

"Oh, go fall in a Trubbish Pile." Wallace let out a loud huff and forced his way through the door ahead of them.

Jethro raised an eyebrow and looked at Steven. Steven shrugged. "He's so used to me paying for everything. He's like a little kid who's been forced to finally grow up." Frita smiled. "Ain't **that** the truth?"

"Quite so," Jethro muttered in amusement.

Wallace stuck his head back in the door. "Are you coming, or not?" The four of them chuckled as they left the restaurant, their bellies and hearts full.

~Fin


End file.
